Clayton took me out tonight for my birthday. I mean, the Pinewood Derby the other night was nice and all, but...
I'd been wanting to go back to the Carl Bloch exhibit at BYU. I went there with my friend Emily in January, but I had all 5 kids with me, so we just kind of blew through it. Tonight we rented the iPad tour and spent some time enjoying all the uplifting and beautiful art of Carl Bloch. If you haven't had a chance to go, you need to go! It runs through May 7th. These paintings are from different churches all over Sweden and Denmark, and this is the first time they've been seen outside of their homes, and all together in one place. It is well worth going. Make your free online reservations before you go.
I had heard this place was really good, so that's where we had dinner. I love trying new places. Clayton, not so much, but he was a good sport since it was my birthday we were celebrating! The atmosphere was casual and fun, but after we were seated and started looking at the menu, we were like, "Hmm, I feel like an idiot...I don't know what half of this stuff is...should we sneak out the door and go somewhere else?" But then our waiter arrived, and we all smiled at each other like we were so excited. I guess we're staying...
You could tell this guy gets a lot of gourmet-challenged customers. He was a pro as he educated us and dumbed down the menu. We had some awesome gnocchi for an appetizer, and then some crazy salad with grapefruit, avocados, and roasted beets that Clayton passed on {fine, more for me!}. The pizza was fired in a big brick oven and was amazing. We both loved it. Our waiter brought a tiny plate with little dried sprigs of oregano and red chiles for crushing onto our pizza. I thought it was fun to go somewhere other than a huge chain restaurant {even though I like those too}. It was kind of an adventure.
The thing about eating out that gets me {no matter how inexpensive or good it is} is when they bring the bill and I feel so ripped off. I think, "Do you know how many groceries I could have bought with that?" Then I get a pit in my stomach. So dumb, I know.
In the end, my favorite part of dinner was the entertainment: